Guns in the Home

[ciscokid]

As I am about to begin my career in law enforcement I realize that a time will come when I will need to have a firearm or two within my home. I'm curious to know, expecially from the LEO's with children, what are some of your methods for storage and education? Do you use a safe or a lock-box etc? I appreciate all of your ideas!

[Rad Diver]

safe w/rapid access to a lock box which is part of/included with my safe. Education is a very big key.

My son is only 7 months, when old enough he shall be educated regarding firearms and safety.

[Legoate]

I actually have two safes. One in the closet where I keep guns I don't use. And a small safe right near the front door for my duty/backup. When I come in the house I put my gun in the small safe right away, that way I'm not tempted to set it down until I get around to putting it into the bigger closet safe. Also, I've educated my son about my guns. I also reward him if he sees the gun out or the safe open and he comes to tell me. Occasionally I'll leave the safe door open (when it's empty) so that he can find it and I can reward him for telling me. That way if I'm dumb enough to leave it open accidentally (which I've done several times) he will tell me without getting into it and he knows he's not going to get into trouble.
If you just need a small safe for one or two guns I'd recommend the higher end version of the Minivaults. The have combination opening and you can open them without even looking at the keys. Mine has a motion alarm so if it is moved around or played with it will alarm (rather annoyingly I might add). Also, I find having it near the door makes it really easy to use.

[bhanson]

As I am about to begin my career in law enforcement I realize that a time will come when I will need to have a firearm or two within my home. I'm curious to know, expecially from the LEO's with children, what are some of your methods for storage and education? Do you use a safe or a lock-box etc? I appreciate all of your ideas!

Number ONE safety measure: EDUCATION. Teach all family members (depending on age) firearm safety. Youngsters should be taught to NEVER touch a firearm unless under your direct supervision. Spouse or S/O should be taught basic firearms handling safety rules and taught to shoot the firearm.

Small safes for handguns are available to keep away from children, however, they should allow you to quickly access it if needed.

[wild800]

I have a safe where I keep all of my weapons except my off duty locked. My son is in college now, and I don't have small children at the house anymore, so I don't always lock up my off duty. I taught him firearm safety, and we talked about the guns when I started on the job. I told my son that if he wanted to shoot my gun he could, and then I taught him to shoot (we did that quite a bit until he turned into a teenager and stopped wanting to hang with his parents anymore).

My gun club has a junior rifle program, so he did that for a couple of years. We also talked about what he should say if one of his friends asked to see my guns, and what he needed to tell them. We talked about what he should do if I needed to fire my weapon or take police action at home or out. When I was still a rookie, an Oakland Officer's young son shot and killed his little brother and that really hit home. Scared the crap out of me actually.

[vadep]

My handguns remain loaded, but are secured in a safe...

[Switchback]

My weapons remain loaded in a safe. My children are permitted to handle them with my permission. We go through the safe handling procedures whenever they want to do so (ASK DADDY, unload the weapon, etc.)

[Johninaustin]

Non-work guns unloaded in several safes. Two loaded guns in the home, a Remington 870 on an 8' high shelf over the front door, (I'm 6'3" and can touch the ceiling. You'd be amazed how many visitors never see it) and Beretta 92 in a bedside holster. (also my duty gun) when we go to work the shotgun goes into the safe. We have no children. The wife carries a Colt Mustang .380 as a CHL gun, and usually keeps it close when I'm away.